In Islamic authors, the story is about the bubbling blood
of John the Baptist rather than Zechariah. In Christian tradition, the story
pertains to Zechariah the father of John, while in Judaism, much the same story
is told about the Zechariah in 2 Chronicles. If the story was originally about
John the Baptist, it may be that the author/editor of the Protoevangelium was
the first to turn it into a story about John’s father, as a way of concluding
his infancy story now focused on Mary and Jesus. From there it passed in turn
into Judaism, per Kalmin’s hypothesis. In Ethiopic versions, the punishment is
carried out by Titus, while other strands of the tradition tend to make it
Nebuchadnezzar. In the Mandaean Book of John, the destruction of Jerusalem is
also mentioned, although not clearly associated with the murder of John (never
mentioned in Mandaean sources to my knowledge) or with the persecution of his movement
(although see 23:19; 35:133-34 where there may at least be hints of the latter as
the reason). (James F. McGrath, John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest
for the Historical Baptizer [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2024], 192 n.
90)
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